Improvement in traction-wheels



e ROGERS. TRACTION WHEEL.

No.173,419 8, Patented Feb. 15, 1876.

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N. PEl'ERs, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPNER. WASHINGTON D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT. QEEIQE.

GEORGE ROGERS, 0E MOUNT VERNON, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN TRACTION-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 173,498, dated February15, 1876 application filed October 6, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE ROGERS, of MountVernon, in the county of Knox and State of Ohio, have invented certainnew and useful Improvementsin Traction Engines 5 and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form partpf this specification My invention relates toan improvement in traction-engines.

In the drawings Figure l is a side-elevation of a traction-engine,embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan-view of same.

My invention consists in the following parts and combinations, ashereinafter specified and claimed, wherein A is the boiler of theengine; B, the driving'shaft to which the power is directly applied fromthe cylinder. Upon the shaft'B is fixed a balance or fly wheel, B, whichmay also serve the purpose of a primary pulley, if desired, foroperating any machinery. Upon the shaft B is also rigidly fixed abevel-gear wheel, B which engages with a bevel-pinion, G The pinion G isrigidly fixed to one extremity of the-shaft G, the said shaft 0revolving in journalsc 0, attached to the boiler A. Upon the lowerextremity of the shaft O is provided a beveled gear-wheel, G whichengageswith a beveled-pinion, D, by which means the shaft D is revolved.At each extremity of the shaft D is provided gear-wheels E, which engagewith, and are operated by, the cog wheels B, which are rigidly securedto an axle, a, which revolves in journals 0 b,- on'the under part of theboiler.

Any suitable arrangement, such as paw] and ratchet, G G, appliedrespectively 'to the wheels and axles, admits of the independentmovement or revolution of the truck-wheels F; as, for instance, inturning to the right or left. H is a screw passing from the boiler downthrough the front-axle of the truck, answering the purpose not only ofairing-bolt, but also of a liftingjack, by means of the nutwheel H, bythe turning of which, in one direction or the other, the front endof'the boiler A will be lifted or lowered from the front axle of thetruck in an obvious manner. I is a tongue or pole for the attachment ofhorses, oxen, 850., for the purposes not only of assisting in the draft,but likewise of steering and guiding the engine.

The feature of adjusting the elevation of the front end of the boiler bymeans of the liftingjack arrangement, herein described, is for thepurpose of maintaining, as near as possible, the level position of theboiler in traveling upon an inclined road, so as to insure safety byhaving the crown-sheet and flues at all times properly covered withWater.

The invention herein described is especially adapted to portable enginesnow in such popular use for farming purposes, and for sawing limitedquantities of timber in various places. It has heretofore been foundmore or less dif ficult, especially during inclement seasons, to conveythe so called portable engines from place to place as desired. Thisinvention is intended to obviate, to a great extent at least, thisdifficulty and objection; and its character is such as to render iteasily adaptable to portable engines already in use, and not providedwith any power of self-locomotion.

It has heretofore been found in traction-en- I gines that, in order toaccomplish the purpose for which they are intended, so much weight isnecessary as to render them impracticable for any popular use. it is'not professed in this invention that this objection has been overcome inthe machine itself, and, for the purpose of supplying the deficiency inthis respect, the tongue or pole has been provided, as herein described,to which may be attached horses or any other draft animal.

What I claim is- In a traction-engine, the combination with thedriving-shaft B and the rear-axle D, said axle adapted to be loosely orrigidly secured

